Wall Bar Team Altitude Challenge

Each team is a rope team that must reach a target altitude by climbing up and down the wall bars in relays, with every bar worth 4 inches. Students practice repeated climbing, pacing their effort, and planning together to reach a shared goal.

How to play

1. Teams of 5 per wall bar section (or two sections per team). Mats at the base. On the whiteboard, draw one mountain per team with a mark every 100 feet.
2. Explanation (3 min): each climb to bar 8 and back down counts as about 3 feet; 25 team climbs make about 75 feet of mountain. The class picks a shared goal together (for example, 300 feet with all teams combined).
3. Planning (2 min): each team decides the relay order and how many climbs each member does per turn (1 to 3).
4. Ascent 1 (5 min): nonstop relays; the student waiting counts the climber's bars out loud. At the end, the team writes its altitude on the whiteboard.
5. Rest and adjust (2 min): did the strategy work? Teams may change the number of climbs per turn.
6. Ascent 2 (5 min) and final class total. Wrap-up (3 min): did we reach the summit? What helped more, going fast or never stopping?

Rules

• A climb counts only if you touch bar 8 with your hand and come down bar by bar to the floor.
• Safety: nobody climbs above bar 8, and no jumping on the way down.
• Only one climber per wall bar section.
• Teammates can cheer, but nobody pushes or rushes the climber.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: earns altitude with resistance band pulls anchored to the wall bars, 1 pull = 4 inches.
• Shy students: start as expedition leader, recording and cheering, before deciding to climb.
• Lower fitness: chooses one climb per turn at their own pace.

Learning goals

• Repeat climbs with good technique while pacing effort.
• Plan a team strategy to reach a goal.
• Value each member's contribution to the shared result.

Equipment for a class of 25

• wall bars: 6
• mats: 6
• whiteboard: 1
• stopwatch: 1

Teacher tip

Pick a famous peak for the class goal and turn it into a challenge over several lessons. Watch that hurrying doesn't lead to skipping bars on the way down.

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